The Garfield County Inmate Population
Garfield County does not publish a separate jail population dashboard or a Garfield County jail roster. The county sheriff page gives law-enforcement contact information, while the official local proof of jail housing comes from the Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts FY 2024-2025 Garfield County audit. That audit notes a payment to the Valley County Sheriff for housing Garfield County inmates. For public lookup purposes, the Garfield County inmate population is therefore tied to Valley County Jail in Ord when a Garfield arrest requires jail housing.
The count can shift for reasons that do not appear in one single database. A person may be arrested in Garfield County, booked or housed through Valley County Jail, released on bond, held on a warrant, transferred to diagnostic and evaluation custody, or later moved to the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services after sentencing. A public entry on the Valley listing is a useful custody clue, but it is not the same as a court docket or a formal statewide correctional record.
The Garfield County Sheriff's Office remains the local arrest and agency contact. The Valley County Sheriff's Office operates the regional jail channel. The state prison side belongs to Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, and federal or immigration custody uses separate federal locators.
Garfield County Inmate Population Statistics
The best local data point is not a current headcount. It is the official finding that Garfield County pays Valley County Sheriff for inmate housing. No official Garfield County jail capacity, average daily population, annual booking count, or current jail census was located on the Garfield County site, Valley County site, or Nebraska Crime Commission public pages. The available numbers are narrower and must be read with that limit in mind.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Garfield County-operated jail facilities | 0 located | Garfield County site inspection, 2026 |
| Primary holding facility for Garfield inmates | Valley County Jail | Garfield County FY 2024-2025 audit payment to Valley County Sheriff |
| Valley County Jail historical local inmate count | 7 | Prisoners of the Census, 12/31/2013 |
| Valley County Jail current rated capacity | Not located | Official Garfield, Valley, and state pages reviewed |
| Nebraska statewide incarceration rate | 591 per 100,000 people | Prison Policy Initiative Nebraska profile |
The Nebraska Crime Commission jail demographic data page says statewide jail admissions reporting is built from long-running jail data systems. The accessible research did not expose a Garfield or Valley county table that could be quoted for current demographics.
Garfield County Inmate Population Trends
The Garfield County inmate population trend is best described as a regional housing pattern rather than a stand-alone jail trend. The research did not locate a year-by-year Garfield jail count. It did locate a historical Valley County Jail count, the FY 2024-2025 Garfield audit proof of Valley housing, and current public activity logs that show Valley Jail receiving, releasing, bonding out, and transferring people for several nearby counties.
| Year or Date | Population Measure | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| 12/31/2013 | Valley Co. Jail had 7 local inmates | Historical correctional-population table, not a current capacity figure. |
| FY 2024-2025 | Garfield paid Valley County Sheriff for housing Garfield inmates | Confirms the boarding relationship, not the average daily population. |
| June 2026 inspection | Valley inmate page showed current and recent entries for several counties | Snapshot listing only; it is not a formal population report. |
That limited trend record matters for readers. A person may be part of the Garfield County inmate population for court and arrest purposes while the actual cell, visitation rule, and mail address belong to the Valley County Jail operation. The public path should follow both counties when the arrest happened in Garfield County.
Who Makes Up Garfield County Inmates
Valley County public entries show enough detail to describe the Garfield County inmate population in a practical way, but not enough to build a formal demographic table. Entries can show age, residence, held-for county, charges, bond language, and hold notes. They do not show race, ethnicity, sex, pod, cell, classification, medical status, or a pretrial-versus-sentenced category for each person. The call log adds useful status words such as bonded out, time served, court pending, transferred, and fines paid.
- Pretrial and warrant custody: Valley entries include warrant and court-pending language for local jail custody.
- Short court commitments: Activity logs refer to court commitment and time-served outcomes.
- Regional holds: The same jail listing can include people held for Garfield, Valley, Howard, Sherman, Wheeler, and Antelope County matters.
- State transfers: A person sentenced to state prison moves to NDCS and leaves the local jail lookup path.
Visit the Nebraska Jail Standards page for the state oversight context. It describes annual inspections and jail data collection duties that apply to active Nebraska jail facilities.
Garfield County Jail Capacity
No official current rated capacity was located for Valley County Jail in the Garfield research set, and no Garfield County detention facility capacity exists in the reviewed county materials. The 2013 Valley County Jail historical count of 7 local inmates is useful only as a past correctional-population measure. It should not be used as a current bed count or staffing measure.
No Garfield County jail overcrowding order, jail construction plan, consent decree, recent local jail lawsuit, or death-in-custody event was located in official sources during the research pass. The recent operational item found was positive: Valley County posted a 2026 notice that Nebraska Jail Standards awarded Sheriff David Scheideler and Jail Manager Ashley Spanel for Valley County Jail 2025 facility administration.
The Nebraska Crime Commission death-in-custody reporting page is the state-level reporting channel for incident reports and zero reports. That is separate from a public local inmate roster.
Laws Governing Garfield County Inmates
Nebraska public-records law gives the starting point for Garfield County inmate population records, but it does not make every jail detail public. The better rule is to ask for a specific existing record from the correct office: Garfield County Sheriff for Garfield arrest records, Valley County Jail for booking or custody records, and Garfield County Court for filed charges and docket events. Confidential, juvenile, medical, security, and investigative material can be withheld or redacted.
Key Statutes and Rules:
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 84-712 gives interested persons the right to inspect and obtain copies of public records unless another law says otherwise.
Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 84-712.01 to 84-712.05 define public records, response duties, and records that may be withheld.
Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 83-4,124 to 83-4,134 establish Nebraska Jail Standards oversight, inspections, and enforcement.
Neb. Rev. Stat. Chapter 47 is Nebraska's statutory chapter for jails and correctional facilities.
For criminal-history dissemination, the Nebraska State Patrol limited criminal-history search follows rules referenced through Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-3523. That search is not the same as a live Garfield County custody check.
Garfield County State Prison Search
There are no Nebraska Department of Correctional Services prisons physically located in Garfield County. The state prison side starts after conviction and sentencing, or after a transfer from county jail into NDCS custody. Use the NDCS incarceration-records search for sentenced Nebraska prisoners, not the Valley County list.
The NDCS locator accepts a last name or DCS ID and may also use a first name. It requires hCaptcha. NDCS states that it does not warrant the accuracy of the public information and directs questions to its Records Administrator in Lincoln. That disclaimer is important because county jail records, court records, and state prison records update on different schedules.
For victim notice and custody alerts, Nebraska uses the Nebraska Victims of Crime Alert Portal. That alert path is separate from a family member's jail roster search.
Search Garfield County Inmate Population
The local lookup path starts with the Valley County public jail listing and call log because Garfield County does not publish a stand-alone roster. The listing is a browse page, not a database. It shows current and recent booking posts, often with a booking photo, date, name, age, residence, held-for county, charge language, bond note, and hold language.
The Valley County inmate listing is the first online stop. The Valley County activity log is the second stop because it can show book-outs, bond-outs, transfers, and releases that may not be obvious from the inmate page alone.
- Open the Valley County inmate listing and scan the newest booking entries first.
- Use the browser find command for the person's last name, Burwell, Garfield County, or the charge term.
- Open the call log and search for book-in, book-out, bonded out, transfer, Garfield County, or the last name.
- Call Valley County Jail at (308) 728-3906 for current custody status.
- Call Garfield County Sheriff at (308) 346-5150 when the question is about a Garfield arrest, report, transport, or hold.
The Valley County Sheriff's Office page identifies Sheriff David Scheideler and the jail-custody role of that office. The screenshot below shows the official sheriff page used to confirm the jail operator and local custody channel.
That source matters because Garfield County inmate searches often require both Garfield County arrest context and Valley County physical custody confirmation.
Garfield County Current Inmate Lookup
The Garfield County current inmate lookup is not a form with name fields. It is a public browse process through Valley County pages and phone confirmation. That makes it less convenient than a large county roster, but it also shows local details that a simple form may hide, including held-for county and status notes.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inmates page | Browse/list | None | Chronological current and recent booking entries; no form fields. |
| Booking date | Text in entry | Not applicable | Shown as a date header before many entries. |
| Name, age, residence | Text in entry | Not applicable | Usually full name, age, and city or state. |
| Held-for county | Text in entry | Not applicable | Can identify Garfield County or another county responsible for the hold. |
| Mugshot image | Image link | Not applicable | Visible next to many public booking entries. |
When the listing does not show the person, the absence should not be treated as proof of release. The person may be newly booked, already released, transferred to D&E in Lincoln, moved to NDCS, held in another county, or in federal or immigration custody.
Past Garfield County Inmate Records
Past Garfield County inmate records require a broader search. The Valley inmate page had at least one older entry visible during June 2026 inspection, but no posted retention schedule or archive rule was found. The activity log is often better for release facts because it can show book-outs, bonded-out entries, time served, fines paid, and transfers.
For older booking records, request a specific record. Nebraska public-records practice works best when the request names the person, approximate booking or arrest date, date of birth if known, arresting agency, and case number if known. Garfield County Sheriff is the right starting point for Garfield arrest reports and transport records. Valley County Jail is the right starting point for jail booking records, jail roster entries, and booking photos created or held at the Ord jail.
Formal charges and dispositions belong in court records. A past inmate record may show a booking reason, while Garfield County Court or JUSTICE shows the complaint, amended count, dismissal, plea, sentence, or other docket action.
Garfield County Inmate Record Fields
A Valley County public entry is not a full jail-management profile. It is a public booking post with a short set of fields. The call log can add release or transfer status. It does not show a booking number, date of birth, height, weight, housing unit, cell, arresting officer, medical note, classification score, warrant number, or projected release date.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Mugshot | Single booking photo image for many listed inmates. |
| Booking date | Date header or date text tied to the booking post. |
| Name | Full name with middle initial or middle name where supplied. |
| Age and residence | Age in years and a city/state or residence note. |
| Held-for county | The county responsible for the case or hold. |
| Charge or reason | Warrant, court commitment, offense name, or short charge phrase. |
| Bond and status | Amount, 10% wording, no-bond language, hold, bonded out, released, or transferred when posted. |
Garfield County Jail vs Prison
County jail and state prison records answer different questions. Valley County Jail covers the local jail stage for Garfield County arrests that require housing: booking, warrant holds, bond, short court commitments, release, and transfer. NDCS covers sentenced state prisoners. A person can leave the Valley listing because the case ended, bond was posted, time was served, or the person moved to state custody.
| System | Who It Covers | Where to Look |
|---|---|---|
| County/regional jail | Pretrial detainees, warrant arrests, short local holds, court commitments | Valley inmate listing, Valley call log, Valley County Jail phone line |
| State prison | Sentenced Nebraska prisoners after transfer | NDCS incarceration records |
| Federal prison | People in BOP custody after federal commitment | BOP inmate locator |
| Immigration detention | People held under ICE authority | ICE Online Detainee Locator |
State and Federal Inmate Search
State and federal systems do not replace the Garfield County inmate population lookup. They cover people who are no longer in the local jail stream, or who were never in county custody at all. Use NDCS after sentencing or state transfer. Use BOP for federal prisoners from 1982 to the present. Use ICE for immigration detention and, if a facility is known, contact the listed ICE facility for local information.
The NDCS locator searches by last name or DCS ID and uses hCaptcha. The BOP locator searches by number or by name and can show register number, age, race, sex, release date, and location. USA.gov explains ICE detainee searches by A-number or biographical data.
The nearest Nebraska ICE facility located in the research was McCook Detention Center. It is not in Garfield County and should not be treated as a county jail.
Garfield County Detention Facilities
The facility map has one local jail page for this county. It is regional because Garfield County's own site does not publish a jail roster or separate detention-center page, while official audit records point to Valley County Sheriff housing Garfield inmates.
- Valley County Jail - regional local jail in Ord serving Valley County and boarding needs for nearby counties, including Garfield County.
The Garfield County Sheriff's Office page is still essential for Garfield arrest and report questions. The screenshot below captures the local sheriff contact source used for this routing.
That contact source is the official Garfield County side of the two-county lookup path.
Garfield County Inmate Population FAQ
Does Garfield County have its own jail roster?
No separate Garfield County online jail roster was located. The practical online route is the Valley County inmate listing and activity log, followed by phone confirmation with Valley County Jail and Garfield County Sheriff.
How large is the Garfield County inmate population?
No official current Garfield County jail headcount or ADP was located. The research found that Garfield has no separately documented jail facility and uses Valley County Jail for Garfield inmate housing when confinement is needed.
Where do sentenced Garfield County prisoners appear?
After state sentencing or transfer, search the NDCS incarceration-records locator. County jail pages are for pretrial, warrant, and short-term local custody, not sentenced state prison custody.
Can a released person still appear online?
Yes. Valley County materials can show current and recent entries, and the activity log can show book-out, bonded-out, release, or transfer details after the initial booking entry.
Are mugshots part of the Garfield County inmate population record?
Many Valley County public inmate entries display booking photos. A mugshot is a booking record, not proof of guilt, and any formal charge status should be checked through Garfield County Court or Nebraska JUSTICE.